Stuffed Fables

Overview— A storybook adventure game where YOU are the stuffed animals and must foil the plots of nightmarish minions! Disclaimer – Skip to the end for the “Final Thoughts” to get a snapshot version of this review 2- 4 players Cooperative Length/Win Condition- So the game is this VERY THICK wire bound story book. Within these pages lurk twists and turns, ominous settings and fun adventures. When open the left page has the “gameboard” and the right page has the story elements that you read as well as any special rules for that particular map. The game length really depends on how long you want to play. I would say 1 page should take 20-30 minutes for a beginner, probably faster for an experienced player. Of course just 1 page is just a small portion of the story. For our family we would usually do 3 pages which equaled about an hour and a half and then we would mark our spots and pick it up again another night. To win you just have to complete whatever mission you are tasked with on that particular page. Sometimes it’s battling minions and other times it’s exploring a new area. There are a ton of different things going on in this game and none of them are overly confusing. Components – The game’s components are really nice! There are numerous minis that represent the enemies you will face as well as minis for each character you can play as and they are very detailed. Also they look like a joy to paint as well if that is your thing. There are a few card stacks for items and status effects and the card stock feels nice. There are a variety of different colored dice for your rolling pleasure and these all come with a nice velvet draw string bag which is glorious. The standout here though is the storybook. This thing is chock full of stories and different boards to play on. Box/Storage – The box is your pretty typical box. The insert in it only serves to divide up the cards and pieces and you will want to bag up all the little components. The storybook sits atop the cardboard insert so nothing moves around and the lid closes flush so you can stand it on its side. The lid does have a nice spot uv finish so it looks really nice and it is sturdy. Visual Appeal – One of the highlights of the game is the visual aspects. The artwork is superbly done and each page of the storybook has a drawn and colored page. My daughter was very excited each time we got to turn the page just so she could see what the next page held as far as artwork. The minis look awesome and go with each character very well. Not only that but each character looks and has a unique personality that is really brought out with the writing. Rulebook – The rulebook isn’t terrible but I have seen better. I wish they would have explained a few parts with a little more detail such as the side board that lies next to the storybook. This thing was mentioned during the components section but it is never explained what its purpose is. It wasn’t hard to figure out that you put the enemy minion’s cards in the slots next to it but at the same time, a section detailing that would be nice. A few other details such as that you can use ANY colored dice to move or do a few other actions would make it a little clearer as well. That part can get a little confusing since each die has a specific role, well, cept for the blue……till it does during save rolls. Stuff like that can make the game more confusing than it should be. All that said however, once you get over that small hump the game is very simple. The base rules are detailed in the included rulebook and individual story rules are detailed on the particular story page in the storybook. So each time you play a new page it might take you a minute to register what changes. Table Presence/Game Board – I talked about this earlier but the storybook game board is just fantastic. A very unique take on board gaming and I simply love it. Each page there is something new and exciting going on and the stories are VERY well written. Both my wife and I are having just as much fun reading through the stories as my daughter is listening to them. And the gameplay that is incorporated into the story is just icing on the cake. The book itself actually doesn’t take up too much space on the table and each player has a small player board they use to track their health and abilities. Other than that you have a small section for cards and tokens. You can easily play this game on a smaller table and be fine. Table Talk/Fun Factor – Lots of table talk here! Going through the story you end up seeing things on each beautifully illustrated page that warrants discussion as well as choices that you work together to make when approaching minions to battle. There is a luck aspect involved as well but there are abilities to mitigate that luck to some extent. In one particular incident we were at the end of one page and I needed to draw out of the bag at least 1 purple die to complete a test……there was only 1 purple die left in the bag….Needless to say my first draw of 5 dice I did not draw the purple die . HOWEVER my wife’s character had an ability that would allow another player to put those dice back in the bag and redraw! SO after doing this I was able to draw the 1 purple die!! And then I had to roll at least a 2……which I did!!! So we went from pretty let down all the way to super pumped up in mere minutes. Not only that but that second draw I did, I made it super edge of your seat as I drew 1 die at a time and let it linger muehehehehe. That said though, even if I were to fail at that task the story would continue, it just would go in a different direction than if we passed the test. Optimal Player Count – We have been playing with 3 and it has been working really great! For this particular game it does scale based on player count on how fast enemies will activate so I think it is easier to play with more players as it gives you more time to get over and attack the enemies before they can do anything. Plus with more players you have more options to attack and help each other out. Not only that but I really see this game as a great family game to play with your sons or daughters even though my wife and I are having a blast with it as well. Final Thoughts – I really, really liked this one. It sets up super quick, doesn’t take up very much space on the table and is pretty easy to learn. Grasping a few of the different dice abilities may take some time but luckily the game comes with nice reference cards to keep close at hand. The artwork is amazing and the stories are glorious and engaging. The playtime is variable depending on how many pages you want to delve into with as little as 20 minutes and up to hours upon hours. On that point I really wish they would have incorporated a “save” system of some kind. We usually play about 3 pages and then quit which for us was about an hour and a half. If the game would have come with a cool bookmark and nifty little bags to store each players pieces that would have put the game over the top. Other than that this is a really unique game that I very highly recommend, especially if you have children around 7-ish years old.

After only 4 pages of the storybook, I already absolutely love this game. Everything about it. Unimaginably adorable writing and theme, great characters, and fun gameplay mechanics. I own tons of board games and this is one of my favorites already. It instantly became the favorite of my mother as well. I played with my wife, my brother, and my mother and we're all 30+ years old. Only an adult could truly appreciate everything this game has to offer. I am not sure whether or not this game would be good for kids. It isnt as simple as actual kid games, it being a rpg-like experience with some strategic thinking involved...but it isnt all that complicated either... so I think it depends on the child's attention span and Need4Speed. If they can play the gameplay mechanics of something like Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition or a PnP game like parent-assisted D&D or Fate Core, then they can play this. If Mice & Mystics is to Secret of Nimh, then Stuffed Fables is to Brave Little Toaster. I love all the "Lost Toys" and junkyard theme to one gameplay mechanic (neutral NPC's / side quests). Awaken your inner child, geeks of the world! Pick your cuddly stuffed animal and dive into a world that feels something like a mix between a scary winnie the pooh episode and a more optimistic brave little toaster. If you, as an adult board gamer, find the idea of playing Stuffies too childish, immature, or "only for kids" then it's likely you're someone who needs to grow up because you're truly missing out! Be a real man and have some fun with life! Only an adult can appreciate everything this game has to offer, and if as a kid you loved any of the movies I mentioned you'll very likely love this game too.

A friend of mine owns this game and we got together for a couple of hours to play. So I had to buy it myself for my girlfriend and I to enjoy. The story telling is so well done as you battle as one of the great childhood toys to protect the young girl from the evil nightmares and spooky creatures that live under the bridge. Fun for all ages and easy to learn. Now there are plenty of YouTube tutorials if you do get stuck

After spending 30+ minutes reading they manual and watching the 25-minute how-to-play video by Plaid Hat Games, I felt ready to dive in with my daughter (5, can't read yet). She normally has a limited attention span for board games -- 30 minutes is pushing it-- but this managed to hold her for 2+ hours while we completed the first story. In fact, she enjoyed it so much that she asked to play if from the moment she woke up (although I had to make her wait until after lunch). My son (7, advanced reader) joined us for the second story and they both gave up screen time early in order to play again later. Suffice it to say, it was a tremendous hit. As a mature board gamer and computer gamer, I enjoyed the game a lot, too. It takes a little bit of work to read through all of the rules and grasp the various mechanics -- none of which is too complicated on its own, but, when taken all together, is a lot to remember -- but once you do, I think it makes for a really fun, rewarding, and engaging experience. Your stuffy avatars -- who have detailed miniatures -- have stuffing as hit points and use household implements as a weapons, -- which includes a kitchen knife and meat cleaver, but also rubber bands and a pencil. I didn't find the knife and cleaver too objectionable, but if you do, you can always remove those item cards. In sum, if you are comfortable navigating all of the rules, enjoying board games (particularly role-playing ones), and have young kids to play it with, you will be in for a fantastic experience! I probably have bought (or received) almost 20 board games in the past two years, and this is easily my best purchase so far. Thanks, Plaid Hat Games! As far as nits go, my main ones are: - There isn't an insert, just a divider between two sections of the box. I probably will tape in cardboard dividers at some point (or else just use sandwich bags), but if you have a 3D printer, you can download an insert that someone posted on BGG. - Some of the rules could be clearer -- do I generate a surge when "checking threat" at the end of a player's turn right before we leave a page? -- or the directions on the page could be more explicit at times. Again, there are threads on BGG that address this.

The play time to finish a story is a bit much for my kids (5 and 7) but we can take breaks when we reset for different story transitions. It's pretty cool and I love that it rotates the story teller so everybody gets to practice reading. Stories so far (we've only completed 2) are relatable and engaging. As we're playing, we want to know what will happen next. It can be a bit complicated, but the story book does an excellent job guiding you through your first game and teaching game mechanics, complete with rule book page references and videos explaining the topic that are easily pulled up with a qr code right there in the story book. I wish all games were so well thought out!

The game is incredible! Beautiful story, wonderful details and characters! It’s not difficult, but it might be for young kids. It’s a great game to spend an evening with the family! The only concern was that in the book for each player it refers as ‘she’ (not the characters, but players) that was odd for me.

It took a while to get through the instructions, but after that my kids and I had a good time playing through the first story. I think this would have been hard for my kids to learn on their own, so I suggest having an adult to help with the rules. The game plays like a dungeon crawl and a choose your own adventure book. I like the writing which is kid friendly but a little dark. My kids love the figurines, which they plan to paint. I had a little trouble at first figuring out how the game wanted us to play, and there can be a lot of rules, so sometimes we miss minor things. After you get used to it, there are lots of fun things for the kids to do like drawing cards, rolling dice, and making decisions. It took us a couple hours to get through the first story and there are 7 stories total that seem to get a more complex as you go. Each story is made up of several pages and each page plays a little differently. I'm looking forward to playing this again with my kids.

This only took 20 minutes to learn/setup for us as experienced tabletop RPG parents. Packaging was well labeled with important information (like NOT shuffling certain decks) and the minis are SUPER well done and cute - we look forward to painting these in the future together as a family. We have played through the first scenario; the mechanics are not complicated and both our 6 and 7 year olds were able to participate without much hassle. Not terribly in depth, but for a game to play with your kids it's definitely fun and gets them learning about character roles, map layouts, movement strategy, and dice rolls.